Puzzles

Sermon • Submitted a year ago • Presented a year ago • 30:30

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sometimes trying to figure out how God works in our lives feels like a puzzle; the prophet Samuel learned a little something about that, and it remains as a lesson for us today.

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Today we are staying with the focus for the day here by paying intentional attention to some of the topics and issues that come to us from our students. I am going to be looking today at a passage from the Old Testament that tells a story which can hit us in many different ways. It is a story that reveals something about the way adults may make assumptions about young people. It is a story that reveals something about how we are seen by God. And it is a story that conveys a lesson for us today about the way we ought to see one another.

we know plenty about David from the Bible

This story in 1 Samuel 16 takes place when David is still young. I imagine that could have easily been during David’s teenage years. We know plenty about David from the Bible. He was used by God to win a battle against the giant, Goliath. He was a talented musician who played musical instruments and wrote songs—many of the Psalms in the Bible come from David. He became king of Israel and goes down in history as one of the greatest kings Israel ever had. We know plenty about David in all of those areas of his life.

the Bible doesn’t tell us about David’s life back in Bethlehem

But in today’s passage we are meeting David for the very first time while he is still young—a teenager as I imagine it. And the Bible doesn’t give us much detail at all about David’s life back then except to say that he helped out at home by tending the family’s flock of sheep and/or goats. That’s really the only thing we know. But I think it is okay for us to take a moment and use our own imaginations to fill in some of the gaps around David’s life at this time. He was a teenager. Some things about being a teenager have always been the same no matter when or where you live. Let’s imagine a few things.

imagine David’s teenage years

I wonder who David’s friends were back in that small town life of Bethlehem. We know later on that David becomes very good friends with Jonathan, the son of king Saul. It seems reasonable that David had other friends growing up. Those of us who are older maybe look back and remember who our school friends were back in our own teenage years. Those of you who are still students in school know how important your friends are in your life. Having good friends means so much. Good friends are people you can trust. Good friends are people with whom you can just be yourself without feeling like you are being judged. I have to believe that teenage David wanted and needed good friends just like we all want and need good friends.

I wonder how teenage David thought about his own identity. It is part of life during teenage years to wonder and explore who it is that you are and who God created you to be and the kind of personality you want to have. You start to think about choices coming your way concerning things like a trade skill job or college education. You start to set some goals in place for where life will go after your school education. You dream about the kind of person you want to become and it feels like your whole life is ahead of you. I wonder how David thought about those things when we first meet him in this story.

Even though David is an important character in the Bible who did extraordinary things like kill a giant and become king, and even though David lived in a completely different time and culture that included jobs like shepherding, I want us today to do our best to imagine David as just another teenage kid when we meet him in this story.

1 Samuel 16:2b–13 (NIV)

1 Samuel 16:2b–13 NIV

But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.” The Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.” Samuel did what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace?” Samuel replied, “Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the Lord chosen this one.” Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.” So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.” Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.” So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.” So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.

imagine David as a teenager in today’s world

What would this story look like if we were to imagine it taking place in today’s world? Would David be posting videos to his TikTok? I think so. Would David be looking for likes on his Insta? I don’t see why not. David was strong and physically fit—I imagine in today’s world he would be an athlete on some kind of school sports team. At the same time, we know David was musically talented—I imagine in today’s world David would be in the school orchestra or play his electric guitar with buddies in a garage band. We know from this passage that David helped out with the flock of sheep at home—he had his list of chores to do: mow the lawn, empty the dishwasher, take out the trash, make your bed, shovel the driveway. Maybe his chores made a little extra money by having a part-time job manning the drive thru orders at Chick-fil-A.

David is seen as just another teenage kid

Here’s the point. I think what we observe in this story from 1 Samuel 16 is that everyone seems to be seeing David as just another teenage kid. It is a lesson that gives us a peek into how we look at other people, how we look at ourselves, and how God looks at us. Let’s consider those three observations from this story in the Bible.

The way we see other people

judgements about people based only on a quick outward glance

What can we learn from this about the way we look at other people. Here’s the thing; sometimes people can be puzzling. What I mean is, sometimes a person can do something we totally never expected, and it puzzles us. So, let me take this idea of puzzles and consider how that may be a helpful illustration. Often we make sweeping and immediate judgements about people based only on a quick outward glance. If we were to see other people as a puzzle, it would be the equivalent of just looking at the box, but never opening the pieces inside. A quick look at the picture on the outside of the box already tells me everything I need to know. There isn’t a need to open up and consider anything more that might be inside.

sometimes we treat people like a puzzle that is forced together the wrong way

But then every now and then when a person does something that puzzles us, we are then forced to consider if all the shattered and segmented pieces inside of this person actually all fit together to become the picture we assume by looking at the outside of the box. And so, we treat people as a puzzle that is forced together. You know how sometimes when making a jigsaw puzzle you find that piece which you are sure looks like it goes in a certain position, and you try flipping and moving the piece to connect where you think it should go, and you might even ram it into the open space because you have become so convinced that this piece must fit into that open spot somehow. But it doesn’t fit; the piece does not actually go there. We look at the outside box, and then we make various assumptions about where all of the various pieces on the inside are supposed to fit in order to match what we see on the outside of the box. And sometimes, there are pieces that just don’t fit into the places where we thought it should go.

people are complex and complicated

Here is the reality we face; that people are—in fact—incredibly complex and complicated. Making judgements about other people strictly by what we see on the outside often leaves us off the mark. Only by taking the time to carefully consider how all the shattered and pieces on the inside fit together can we truly see the better image of someone else's life. That takes time and attention to see how all the inside pieces of someone’s life actually all fit together to make the better and more complete image of who they truly are. And so often we discover in the process that there are pieces in the puzzle of another person that do not actually fit together the way our assumptions of the outside made us believe. People are more complicated and complex than that.

Samuel made assumptions about the next king of Israel by what he saw on the outside

take the time to see all the pieces that make a person who they are

they will only successfully be the person God has created them to be

Samuel showed up in Bethlehem in order to anoint the next king of Israel. As he came to household of Jesse and looked down the line of all Jesse’s sons, Samuel made some assumptions by the picture he saw on the outside of the box about what was inside. God steps in to correct Samuel in that moment. It might be good if we see this passage as God’s way of stepping in to correct each one of us whenever we tend to do the same thing as Samuel. Let’s admit it right now, each one of us has had moments of making sweeping assumptions about someone else simply by a quick glance of what we think we see on the outside; we have all done it. Take the time to see all the pieces that make a person who they are.

The way we see ourselves

Then there is the way we look at ourselves. This is a good reminder too. Sometimes we see ourselves as only being the picture on the outside. I suppose in that famous Bible story of David and Goliath, the story could have turned in a completely different direction if David resigned himself to what everyone else around him was saying. All David’s brothers told him to get lost and go home because they saw David as a helpless boy who had nothing to offer in the face of the menacing threat of Goliath and the Philistine army. If David saw himself by the same outward picture, maybe he would have just turned around and went back home.

sometimes the picture other people see of us can get so hammered into our own minds that we start seeing ourselves by that same picture

Sometimes the picture other people see of us can get so hammered into our own minds that we start seeing ourselves by that same picture too, even if somewhere deep inside you know the broken pieces you carry in you do not line up to make that picture other people have cast upon you—but you live into it anyway. If enough other people tell me over and over that I am an idiot, eventually I start to see myself by that same picture. If enough other people tell me over and over that I have nothing good to contribute, eventually I start to see myself by that same picture.

spend time looking closely at all the pieces inside of yourself

Here is my point; sometimes you need to spend time looking closely at all the pieces inside of yourself. Sometimes we find ourselves trying to live up to everyone else’s expectations and trying to be the picture on the outside that other people want us to be, but sometimes the pieces inside us just don’t line up to all fit together like that. It’s good to take the time to know and examine all the pieces of your life that make the image of who you are uniquely who you are. Because here is the truth; you will only successfully be the person that God has created you to be. Stop trying to be something you are not. Stop trying to take all the broken and disconnected pieces of your life and forcing them to snap together in ways God did not make them to be. That will never hold together; eventually it will all fall apart.

start with the truth of God’s word

you will only successfully be the person that God has created you to be

If you need a place to start with that, start with the truth of God’s word. Start by reminding yourself that you are created and loved by God. Start by remembering that God’s grace extends to you no matter who you are. Start by being reminded in scripture that you are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139), and that you have been redeemed by Jesus for a life that bears the good fruit of the gospel. When the pieces of your life all fit together the way God has designed and intended, it will be a picture that produces the spiritual fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. You will know when you are putting together the pieces of your life in the right places and in the right way because those things will be the result.

The way God sees us

“People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

God already knows exactly how the broken pieces inside you are supposed to all fit together

the Holy Spirit puts one broken piece back together after another, one piece at a time

you will only successfully be the person that God has created you to be

And finally, let’s consider the way God looks at us. God says to Samuel in this story, “People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (verse 7) God sees you for who you really are. God already knows exactly how all the broken pieces inside of you are supposed to all fit together. And God knows that often you and I are not able to put those broken pieces together ourselves. We need God to do that for us. God sees us and God knows that the only way we will ever be made whole again is for Jesus to step in and fix where we are broken and shattered. The sin that shattered and broke our world—the sin that shatters and breaks the pieces of our life is taken to the cross where Jesus gave himself for you. And now it is the perfect righteousness of Jesus that has been given to you. And in that perfect righteousness of Jesus, you can walk forward into a life of sanctification—a life in which the Holy Spirit puts one broken piece back together after another; one piece at a time producing a picture of who it is God has created you to be. That’s how God sees you now. And that’s how God is even now working in your life. You will only successfully be the person that God has created you to be. Don’t live your life as though that’s a puzzle which never gets put together.

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